Average asking prices are lower than a year ago but have risen in the last 3 months

An interesting study regarding the market value of property in Spain was published by the Idealista portal on Tuesday, showing that while the average asking price for second hand homes listed on the portal has risen by 6 per cent to 1,703 euros per square metre over the last year, the figure for the Region of Murcia has decreased by 2.3 per cent during the same period.

The decrease in Murcia is the most significant among the 5 negative movements observed by Idealista in Spain’s 17 regions, an aspect which has been highlighted in the regional press, but in fact a closer examination of the figures contained in the report presents grounds for optimism. The data also conclude that the average asking price in Murcia has actually risen slightly (by 0.3 per cent over the first quarter of this year) and during the month of March (by 0.1 per cent), suggesting that any downward movement is coming to a halt in response to the higher level of demand.

There are also some interesting aspects concerning trends in the market in the rest of Spain. Over the last 12 months, as has been the case according to most sources for a couple of years, the sharpest upward movements have been in the Balearics (17.1 per cent according to Idealista), Madrid (15.5 per cent), the Canaries (13.7 per cent) and Catalunya (7.3 per cent), but over the last quarter the increases in these regions have been more moderate, particularly in Madrid: here the figure rose by only 1.6 per cent in the first quarter and remained flat in March itself.

It is also worth highlighting that while in Murcia the prices advertised on the portal are still 40 per cent lower than at their peak in late 2007 and early 2008, in other regions the recovery in value has been far greater: in Catalunya the shortfall is calculated at 14.1 per cent and in Madrid at just 0.8 per cent, while in the Balearics it is reported that it has been wiped out completely. This again suggests that prices are far more likely to tend towards stability over the coming year, although much may depend on the result of the general election which is held on 28th April.

It is worth remembering that the data reported by this portal are do not necessarily reflect actual sales prices, and those advertising, particularly private owners, tend to set a price higher than the offers they are eventually willing to accept. In addition, they are derived only from second hand or used properties, and while these provisos do not invalidate the findings, they do add other elements of uncertainty to the equation!